The Secret Affair

- Anu

The pleasant trip (as it was supposed to be) turned out to reveal the secret which my hubby was holding back from me.
My husband's second affair!
I asked him "Why, Hari? Why her?" He coolly said, "She's HOT!" This left me burning on the inside too (for outside, i was burning b'coz of failed A/C).
It all had started when we were in Bangalore. He had been missing her all the time. He had been in constant touch with her through the internet, but couldn't meet her in person, though. Once when i noticed him deeply involved in the net (of course, it was her), i started to get worried. He turned deaf ears to me but was showing deep interest in listening to her woes & wonders. We started fighting on this. Then, lucky for me (atleast, i thought so) he got into a busier job & hardly had time to even eat (his passion), leave alone time for 'HER'. But one thing i was more worried was we were shifting to where SHE is! I decided i have to be more careful.
Man! Hari has 'the guts' in him. As we moved in here, he introduced HER to ME! Can you imagine? But then, if i have to ditch the "avoid-gal-to-gal-admiration" rule, SHE was indeed.... verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry HOT! Now forget it, I did not say that, ok?. Now that i've seen HER, i started analysing the reasons why he fell for HER, as any (human) wife woud do. Hmmm... B'coz SHEwas homely? No, but SHE seemed quite modern at the same time. May be b'coz SHEwas too playful, but... wasn't SHEcareful too? Got it, surely b'coz SHEwas kiddish, but then, how did i grew jealous of HER mothering Hari at times? Or was SHE innocent enough to attract Hari or clever enough to take him over? Oph! name the character & i think i saw that in HER. I came to know SHE was into classical music. Hari wished his parents should listen to hers atleast once. SHE had also been into all traditional art forms (point strong enough to attract Hari's parents). The only point that is good for me & bad for HER, SHE has recently gotten into the pub culture. What makes it more bad for ME is how beautifully SHE justifies this too...
He took a lot of care & interest in HER... i thought why should Hari take care of HER? Can't the others (who were withHER) take care of HER?
Once, I was proud till my head for an instant when Hari told me recently that she is the second best in respecting elders (which means i'm the first!). He blew it off in the next instant giving away my proud first place to someone else. My heart would jump with jealousy joy whenever he criticized her for any of her unorganized acts. Yeah, Hari was not blindly in love with her. He was also her critic when she committed mistakes. He used to sigh to me about her, "Flying over from the problems of the road of life is not a solution when there is a stand still. There are so many other things which she can try." There are a number of things for which Hari wished that she could have been much better. Still, he LOVES her. He did not love her for any of the benefits she was giving him but he LOVES her, simply. This pure love of his towards her made me realise it is of no use in trying to make him forget her. Then, what do i do? Ask me, what did i do? I started admiring her too... I started adoring her too... I started............loving her too...Yes, i take interest in her developments now... i update Hari on her life whenever he misses to catch up with her due to his busy schedule. Now i think, if we don't care for her, who else will.... After all, SHE is where we live!
We love you, Chennai! even with the hottest climate; even with those unnecessary flyovers everywhere("Flying over from the problems of the road of life is not a solution when there is a stand still. There are so many other things which she can try." ); even with those missing roads; even with those hindi-known-non-hindi-speaking auto drivers who collect the rate equivalent to taxis in Kolkatta; even with those drowning houses & overflowing ditches during rain; even with those loud speakers & road blockers for every festival in every temple... for you hold responsibility for NONE of these....
We love you, Chennai! not only b'coz you wake us up with the great flavoured filter coffee! not only b'coz you taught us how to balance tradition & modern lifestyle! not only b'coz you offer us high class education! not only b'coz you house 9% senior citizens which is the second to 10% in Kolkatta! not only b'coz you are affordable! not only b'coz you make us realize the values of our age-old culture! not only b'coz you teach us the social manners with the variety of festivals! not only b'coz......
We love you, Chennai! SHE is HOT!

- Anu